Zcash's Wild Ride: Prices Spike to $400, Fall to $300, But What's Next?

The privacy-focused cryptocurrency zcash has had a wild 24 hours.

At press time, the zcash-US dollar (ZEC/USD) exchange rate had reached a high of $410, its highest level since June, only to fall back to $290 levels, the volatile day driven by reports the coin could be listed on South Korea's exchanges. Indeed, the inciting news here appears to be news about the forthcoming addition of the cryptocurrency to Bithumb, one of the country's largest trading platforms.

Stepping back, the move can be seen as part of a larger trend wherein South Korea is proving to be the basis for strong upswings in cryptocurrency valuations, though zcash's increase might mark the largest to date.

At press time, the cryptocurrency is trading at $310, up 12.8% in the last 24 hours. Factoring for the swing, ZEC is up 10% month-on-month and 75% week-on-week.

So is the rally in ZEC a flash in the pan or something that could be sustained over the longer period? Price action analysis says the cryptocurrency could remain on the front foot in coming days.

The chart above shows a descending triangle breakout, which is defined by a horizontal bottom and downsloping top.

The upside break marks the continuation of the rally from the February 20 low of $222. Further, the sharp rise in the volume indicates the rally has substance.

Despite the retreat from the high of $410, the outlook remains bullish – a trend change is likely if prices fall below the support offered by the downward sloping trend line.

The 14-day RSI is overbought, which indicates the rally is overstretched. Short-term consolidation in the range of $290-350 is likely before the cryptocurrency has another go at $400 levels.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Zcash Company, the for-profit entity supporting zcash's development.

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